Its time to get smaller

[Orla_D]

Hi everyone

So my background is that I am a vegetarian who is very overweight... at my heaviest I was over 22 stone. Started a new weigh loss journey mid January, didn't weigh myself at the very start but think I was over 21 stone... Currently 19stone 4lbs as of today and I am going to try track my foods....

Thediet I am following is basically a low GI diet, with plenty of whole nutritious foods... keeping an eye on the calories, but not really calorie counting... Have started walking on my lunch breaks at work as I have a toddler at home and its hard to get time in the evenings to do it...

Breakfast- 1 slice of low GI bread buttered, 1 egg scrambled with a sprinkling of cheese, mushrooms, spinach and a cup of coffee with skim milk

Lunch- Homemade veg soup (butternut squash, sweet potato, onion, mushroom, celery, leeks, carrot, peppers) with some ground flaxseed added to it.

Snack- Activia muesli yogurt

Dinner- Veg lasagne, made with brown lasagne sheets, quorn mince, mushrooms, onions, carrots, spinach, celery, tin tomatoes, passata, cheese. ( I don't use the white sauce part, just top it with some passata)

This will be pretty much my food for the week, I have a huge container of soup in the fridge and a lasagne that will do me for the week... I am trying to find an alternative for the yogurt, I find that it keeps things moving so I might see if I can substitute it for another yogurt...

exercise wise I am burning about 500 calories a day with my walking... not going to be able to go every day but I am aiming for 5 times a week...

I have always been overweight... But my husband and I really want another child so I am aiming to lose another 5-6 stone and TTC at the end of the year, im 5foot 8 so I would still be overweight but a lot healthier...... I am an emotional eater, so I am trying to keep myself healthy in every way. 2018 is my year to lose weight..

So this is my journey

 

[ladyfelsham]

Hi Orla and welcome to Wemitts .

Great to see you've got a plan in place that's working well for you - look forward to supporting you through your journey x

 

[Fade_away]

Good luck you can and will do it.

 

[Orla_D]

Thanks fade_away and ladyfelsham, I definitely need the accountability I will have here....

I have had a disaster since the last time I posted... we had a lot of snow where I live. the area locked down so I ended up raiding the freezer, pizza, chips, everything!!! we ended up taking in my sister for the weekend too because she couldn't get to my parents house from her university so she came stay with us.... and brought a big massive bag of goodies... so I ate that too....

I literally sat on my couch and ate for 4 days...

BUT... I am drawing a line under it.. whats done is done and I am up to 19stone 6lbs... an increase of 2 lbs... I will get rid of it before the end of the week...

I am back on track!

So today I had one slice of wholegrain bread with an extra light cheese triangle, 1 egg boiled and a few mushrooms with a big cup of coffee....

I made soup yesterday, tomato and lentil... its roughly 200 calories for a huge portion so I have just that for my lunch...

Dinner will be a vegetarian burger, I cant remember the brand of the ones I have in the freezer but it is beetroot burger, I will check when I get home, I have one of them with the light burger bun thing, some baby potatoes cooked in the microwave and then chopped up and fried in sprayoil... and some carrots and tinned peas...

Snacks will be an apple and a activia museli yogurt.

I used to eat flaxseed in my soup, but last week it made me very unwell, It felt like it was expanding in my stomach and I was very unwell, so I think I will leave it for now, problem is that it kept things very... regular... not really sure what I can introduce to up my fibre intake...

 

[Fade_away]

Thanks fade_away and ladyfelsham, I definitely eed the accountability I will have here....

I have had a disaster since the last time I posted... we had a lot of snow where I live. the area locked down so I ended up raiding the freezer, pizza, chips, everything!!! we ended up taking in my sister for the weekend too because she couldn't get to my parents house from her university so she came stay with us.... and brought a big massive bag of goodies... so I ate that too....

I literally sat on my couch and ate for 4 days...

BUT... I am drawing a line under it.. whats done is done and I am up to 19stone 6lbs... an increase of 2 lbs... I will get rid of it before the end of the week...

I am back on track!

So today I had one slice of wholegrain bread with an extra light cheese triangle, 1 egg boiled and a few mushrooms with a big cup of coffee....

I made soup yesterday, tomato and lentil... its roughly 200 calories for a portion so I have that for my lunch...

Dinner will be a vegetarian burger, I cant remember the brand of the ones I have in the freezer but it is beetroot burger, I will check when I get home, I have one of them with the light burger bun thing, some baby potatoes cooked in the microwave and then chopped up and fried in sprayoil... and some carrots and tinned peas...

Snacks will be an apple and a activia museli yogurt.

I used to eat flaxseed in my soup, but last week it made me very unwell, It felt like it was expanding in my stomach and I was very unwell, so I think I will leave it for now, problem is that it kept things very... regular... not really sure what I can introduce to up my fibre intake...

Theain thing is you're back on plan. I'm glad the snow is melting here. I was getting hungry with the cold but I'm doing exante so it's zero good for me and just the shakes. You can do this, crack on. And that 2lb will be soon off.

 

[Orla_D]

Theain thing is you're back on plan. I'm glad the snow is melting here. I was getting hungry with the cold but I'm doing exante so it's zero good for me and just the shakes. You can do this, crack on. And that 2lb will be soon off.

Thanks Fade_away... Hopefully it will be gone. its cold here, snow is almost gone, I'm back at work this morning... I was going to go to canteen for my morning break but my runners are in the car, think I will go for a walk instead, start the ball rolling on getting rid of this extra 2lb!!!

Oh that must be tough! I have never done exante but I did lipotrim years ago and I remember how cold I was.... Can you make up the shakes with hot water or how does it work? The cold weather isn't good for us trying to slim down, that's for sure!

 

[Fade_away]

Thanks Fade_away... Hopefully it will be gone. its cold here, snow is almost gone, I'm back at work this morning... I was going to go to canteen for my morning break but my runners are in the car, think I will go for a walk instead, start the ball rolling on getting rid of this extra 2lb!!!

Oh that must be tough! I have never done exante but I did lipotrim years ago and I remember how cold I was.... Can you make up the shakes with hot water or how does it work? The cold weather isn't good for us trying to slim down, that's for sure!

Yes you can but I don't like them warm so stick to them cold. I need to totally reprogram my brain when it comes to food. I need to realise that I can't ho back to eating junk when my weight is off. I start with the best intentions but ho back to my old ways which is no good at all.
The best thing we can do is look to the summer and those nice clothes we want to wear. Lol ohhhh I'd love a bit of sun right now

 

[Orla_D]

Yes you can but I don't like them warm so stick to them cold. I need to totally reprogram my brain when it comes to food. I need to realise that I can't ho back to eating junk when my weight is off. I start with the best intentions but ho back to my old ways which is no good at all.
The best thing we can do is look to the summer and those nice clothes we want to wear. Lol ohhhh I'd love a bit of sun right now

oh roll on the summer!!! Don't think I will be able to wear my bikini this year though!!! We live close to a beach so hopefully we will get some nice weather to spend some time there...

Yea I think that will be my weakness too.. I am afraid that I will start to "reward" myself if I lose a lot of weight... then end up back to square one!! Im planning on rewarding myself with spa days... when I am down into the 17's I am going on a spa day with my sisters... rewarding myself with treats that don't involve food!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Well done for getting back on plan! That's the hard bit .

Re staying regular, I eat loads of spinach and that seems to do the job

 

[Orla_D]

Well done for getting back on plan! That's the hard bit .

Re staying regular, I eat loads of spinach and that seems to do the job

Thanks for the tip! I have spinach most mornings in my breakfast... I must try to up my intake coz it's usually a handful in with the eggs and that is split between 3 of us so it's very little when I think about it... Will see if that would help me too... I have a very sensitive digestive system... I've eaten so badly over the weekend that I'm struggling a little bit today with my trips to the loo... Just had a second activia yogurt so hopefully that will help... I have suffered a lot in recent years that it will be an extra motivation to stay on track...

 

[Looooou]

HOPing that by conmenting I’ll be subbed to your thread

 

[Looooou]

OMG ignore the typos it’s my phone

 

[Orla_D]

So this morning I weighed myself... got up to the toilet at 5am and weighed myself afterwards... was delighted to see I was 19stone 1lb.. logged it on my app and was delighted with myself.... Until I properly woke up at 7:30... and stepped on the scales again and was 19stone 4lbs!!! I obviously mistook a 4 for a 1!!! thought I had lost 5lbs! but really I had lost 2, which is still amazing after gaining over the weekend, I am back to where I was last Thursday so I am delighted, its like the weekend never happened

Had 3 walks yesterday, I went out on my 2 breaks from work and did 1.6miles route on each break.. also walked out to the shop pushing the little man in the buggy which was another 1.2 miles so in total I walked 4.4 miles yesterday so I am 7km into my 100km target for march...

So food, yesterday I was very good with my food, today I am doing great... That loss at the weekend really helped me...

Breakfast- the usual, 1 slice of wholegrain bread, 1 egg scrambled, mushrooms, spinach, sprinkling of cheese and an extra light laughing cow triangle. all washed down with a big cup of coffee...

Lunch- massive bowl of tomato and lentil soup (homemade)- managing to eat this without any bread.. was worried that I would be hungry again in an hour but lentils really keep me full

3pm Snack- activia yogurt

Dinner- I made a massive quorn pasta bake this morning, I will try get a pic up of it later. Fried some quorn chicken style pieces in spray oil with carrots, mushrooms, peppers, red onion, garlic, added some passata, tinned tomato, herbs, lentils and spinach.... simmered and then added 120g of dry brown pasta, sprinkled with cheese and baked in the oven. I was very careful to weigh everything so I could work out the calories in the dish... whole bake was 2200 calories and yielded about 5 portions, (had cooked so much I needed 2 dishes) so that's dinners sorted for the rest of the week for me for 440 calorie per dinner.

I didn't get a chance to go for a walk yet today so I am hoping once I have my little boy in bed I will get out.. I don't really like going out walking at night because I wake early in the morning and I like to be in bed early at night but I will definitely try to get out tonight.

 

[Orla_D]

So last night I never got a chance to go for a walk... it was late before I got home and as I came down the stairs to go for a walk celebrity GBBO was just starting so I ended up watching that... really I should have watched it on +1 when I got back.. but I ended up staying where I was.... It was also strange watching GBBO.... we used to eat cake as we were watching it.. so instead I had a small packet of chocolate ricecakes as a little treat... still stayed under my calorie allowance...

So I really have to make sure I get out today for 2 walks, 5km in total.... My food is as follows:

Breakfast- 1 egg scrambled, mushrooms, spinach, sprinkling of cheese, some diced potato (that I needed to use up) and 1 slice of low GI bread. Cup of coffee with skim milk.

Lunch- homemade tomato and lentil soup (massive portion)

Dinner- pasta bake again.. was really tasty yesterday so looking forward to it today.

Snack- activia cereal yogurt

Was very proud of myself... yesterday there were cakes and scones everywhere in work... and then loads of sweets but I resisted... there are often sweets going around the office... but yesterday was a particularly bad day... I have told the people in my office that I am on a health kick.. so they don't put too much pressure on me to have some.. usually if someone is off for the day or out of the office they would leave some sweets on your desk... you could come back after a week off to your desk covered in sweets and crisps... But they know I am not eating them so that's half the battle.....

Am also drinking 3l of blackcurrant miwadi... I wish I could drink water or even water with fruit but I just cant do it! So it does add a few calories.. not a massive amount..

 

[ladyfelsham]

Woohoo well done on the loss Orla, that's great. You are going great guns - all the walking, counting everything and resisting the work cakes, etc!

 

[Orla_D]

Woohoo well done on the loss Orla, that's great. You are going great guns - all the walking, counting everything and resisting the work cakes, etc!

Thanks ladyfelsham

 

[Orla_D]

So this morning was weigh in day... since last Thursday I had a massive slip up... gained 2lbs (I weigh myself everyday at the moment... might try to do it just twice a week) and then lost them again... along with 3 more lbs..

my new weight is 19stone 1lb... delighted with myself... a 3lb loss overall this week..

the loss has given me a new energy and motivation to lose more.

Breakfast was the usual, egg, mushrooms, spinach, low gi bread, 10g cheese, laughing cow extra light and a big cup of coffee...

Lunch- the last of my tomato and lentil soup.. fell like I have been eating this forever!

Dinner- will be my pasta bake... making 4 portions at once makes life so much easier. im not trying to sort dinner every evening, especially when I am vegetarian and my husband and son are meat eaters...

Snack- apple and bowl of flaxseed and activia yogurt

Had a lot of trouble with my stomach the past few days.. had to resort to a trip to the chemist to clear things!! TMI! but seems to be sorted now.. I had a bowl of yogurt and flaxseed yesterday evening to try keep this regular... my digestive system is just very sensitive to changes in my diet....

Went for 2 walks already today, I did a personal best this morning 1.7 miles in 25 minutes. Then I walked into town on my lunch break and got a few bits. I did feel like I was cheating a bit walking around town because I called into a few shops but I know before I started this journey I would have driven in. so that was another 2 miles. 3.7 miles walked today so far or 6km. On tack to reach 100km walked in March

 

[Orla_D]

I forgot to mention. I am 12lbs away from my first treat... a spa trip with my mother and sisters.. when I lost weight a few years ago the smallest I got to was 18stone 3.5lbs... that was a good few years ago.. My first target was to pass that and then I will reward myself.. so I am getting close to that....

The reason I picked that reward was a few months ago I was due to go for a spa day with a group of close friends. As usual, I rang the spa a few days before to check out the robe situation.. They didn't have one that would fit me.. so I cancelled. I decided there and then that I was going to go something about my weight now.. I MEAN IT THIS TIME. So this has started my new journey and I thought it was fitting to have a spa day as a reward for myself

 

[Orla_D]

My dinner... Quorn pasta bake..

 

[Orla_D]

Another day and feeling really good this week... ,my stomach issues have completely resolved themselves after all the trouble I had after the weekend binge... My evening snack has now become a yogurt with some flaxseed and seeds mixed in.. really nice and tasty. Had one walk already this morning and instead of doing my usual route, I went a different road which included a massive hill.. same distance, was slightly slower. Will get out for another walk on my lunch.

Husband made a massive batch of roast veg soup.. I forgot to ask him to weigh the ingredients so I don't know what the calories are per portion. Looking forward to the change from tomato and lentil soup that I have been eating all week. I am lucky that I am in a position to have my soup at my desk, just heat it up In the microwave and bring it back to my desk, its in a special soup container so I just drink it from there.

Breakfast- usual- 1 egg, 1 slice of low GI bread, mushrooms, spinach, cheese, laughing cow and a mug of coffee

Lunch- roast veg soup

Dinner- the last portion of my pasta bake.

Snacks- apple, yogurt with seeds and flaxseed.